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Greetings!
After two months of preparation, presentations, and general busy-ness, I am glad to be back to just writing.
Today's
first article is inspired by my visit to the Ontario Science Centre
where I saw a replica of Milgram's Shock Generator. See the photo in
the article "You too can do harm".
The second article follows
from my first summer hike this year. With all the explosion of greenery
across the landscape, it is hard not be taken with the hope of a richer
and lusher future.
Enjoy and have a wonderful summer month,
Chris
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Human Venture :
You too can do harm
...confronting our demons
Are you capable of committing great evil? The real answer, as history has demonstrated over and over again, is a resounding yes. Take a quick browse through psychology, sociology, anthropology... the evidence is overwhelming.
Now
you will have a healthy reaction that claims, "No, of course not. Sure
I make mistakes, but overall I am a good person." But how do you know?
How do you know your current actions aren't causing untold suffering
elsewhere? How do you know there aren't circumstances where you will
commit atrocities?
The
uncomfortable truth is that many of our decisions are influenced by
circumstances far more than we would like to believe. People who
committed genocide through action or inaction believed themselves to be
good people. If we cannot understand why good people do evil, then we
risk making the same error in judgment ourselves.
Allow me then to share a revealing experiment with you and suggest how we can strive to be less influenced by our circumstances.
Read more about Milgram's experiment and view shocking footage of a similar experiment.
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U Venture : Is it Greener on the Other Side?
On
this side is the unsatisfactory present. On the other side is the
promise of a better future. If only, we say to ourselves, we could make
that leap across the great chasm of fear and time and capability to
greener pastures.
Framed this way, we will inevitably hear the nagging voice of the troll underneath the bridge:
- What if it isn't what I imagine it be?
- What if it won't make me happy?
- What if I can't do it?
That
voice is sneaky... because "it" will never be what you imagine it to
be, and "it" will not be what makes you happy, and if "it" is
worthwhile, you will surely be unequipped to do it. By focusing
only on the next job, the next business, the next relationship, there
is little chance of fulfillment.
The point is not whether you get there. The point is who you become by attempting to get there.
Read a short article on finding greener pastures...
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Blind Obedience
"When
you think of the long and gloomy history of man, you will find far more
hideious crimes have been committed in the name of obedience than have
been committed in the name of rebellion."
- C.P. Snow, "Either-Or" (1961)
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